Council approves Chestnut Street block closures and downtown events including summer block party and Thursday night shows

The Virginia City Council approved several public-event requests and related street closures for downtown this summer.

Revive Virginia and partners requested permission to use the 100 block of Chestnut Street for a fourth annual summer block party on June 11 with tents, tables, staging and vendor activity. Jared Seibert, representing Revive Virginia and the Laurentian Chamber, asked the council for in-kind support and permission to close the block between First Avenue West and Second Avenue West from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.; council approved the request. "We are asking the city for permission to get tables, chairs, tents, and to block off that block of Chestnut Street for this upcoming event," Seibert told the council.

Council also approved a request to close the 100 block of Chestnut Street on Aug. 1 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. for an acoustic show and to designate the area as no parking. A separate request to close the 100 block of Third Avenue North near Sugar Shack for Thursday-night street shows from June to August was also approved. The council authorized temporary signage and no-parking designations as required.

Officials said event organizers may sell beverages inside certain businesses and that public safety and trash receptacles would be coordinated; the council moved to provide in-kind support and amenities where feasible. The summer block party motion passed unanimously at the meeting.

What happens next: Event organizers will coordinate with city staff on logistics, staging, trash receptacles and temporary traffic control. The city will provide agreed in-kind support and post no-parking signs for closures on approved dates.